Full Circle……and Balance

I find myself feeling a bit ambivalent at the moment as my children all reach milestones of their own and I am left staring in the mirror wondering where in the world the time went…….and at the same time feeling a sense of release. The youngest of the 4 boys will turn 18 on Friday and the girls will all be another year older within the next 5 months. Puberty for the girls is right around the corner and life will change again in order to accommodate their changing personalities.

At the same time as the two youngest of my clan reach another birthday, so too will I have another birthday and although I am not as ambivalent about this passing of time it still has a way of making me question all that is going on in my life and all that I desire to happen. So much of life has changed since the girls came along and even more since the first of the boys were born 24 years ago. Sometimes it boggles the mind to think about all that life has brought. The one thing that I have learned without a doubt is the importance of BALANCE.

Balance….life has a way of throwing a whole lot of stuff in our direction, typically all at one time or seemingly so. There are so many things I’d like to do, goals to accomplish and experiences to witness. Sometimes it is all too easy to succumb to the craziness of this life and forget about the goals. Other times, the only thing that seems to really keep me moving in a forward direction is the thought of the next goal; the next race or the next event of some type or another.

I have joked for years about my ability to function under conditions that most would find disconcerting. I thrive under a particular kind of pressure and fondly call this organized chaos. When life is going along too slowly and there are not enough deadlines within my sight, I grow bored and irritable. I use a calendar……several of them usually….and I prefer to have things to do on any given day. These can be mundane and boring things like the shopping I need to do in order to have the foods I prefer to eat in the fridge or the more exciting (to me) things like the next race coming up or an awards ceremony for one of the girls. I like to see what’s going on.

It helps me balance the various responsibilities and keep a peace of mind at the same time. Balance…..and peace of mind 🙂